Kitchen appliances going in

The major kitchen appliances are going in. The two Dads work on attaching the power cord to the range. They succeeded, and they even managed to avoid looking at the instruction booklet.

Window sills

Remember way back when we were first clearing the land and we used the chain saw mill to cut planks from some of the trees that were felled? Well, we finally found a use for some beautiful pieces of red oak.

















We cut 8" slabs in half leaving the bark edge natural, planed and sanded, varnished with three coats of Spar and then nailed them in place with a bit of liquid nails for good measure. We love 'em.

We can pee and poop

The bathroom is very nearly there. The toilet, sink, and shower are all connected. If you come to visit, we can now offer first-world comforts and conveniences.

If you look closely, you will notice that the first installation included plastic pipes under the sink We decided that although this is practical and hard-wearing, it just didn't look right, so our plumber chromed it out. Aaah, much better.

Trim

Dad Kiker has been producing trim by the boatload. He is using a special blade attachment that we think came with the saw about 50 years ago. It is probable this is their first use!





















We bought some very cheap pine boards, put a four-line groove in them and then bevel the edges. We've been testing some stain options which failed miserably at first due to the softness of the wood and blotchy results. But the Minwax "PolyShades" polyurethane with stain mixed in it seems to be creating a more uniform look. We'll try to get just the right color and begin production this weekend.

Accent wall needs help

This wall is driving us crazy! Pictured is the "accent wall" which will house a built-in desk. It is visible from all rooms in the house, so it needs to be just right.

We have tried many different colors, have received input from multitudinous well-meaning friends, and we still can't decide what would look right. But the creative process is often intense just before breakthrough. We're ready for resolution now.

Spiral duct awaits installation

Some of the exposed spiral duct for the AC system is delivered and will be installed on early next week. A friend who stopped by this weekend exclaimed, "Wow, that stuff is going to look so cool, kinda rustic-industrial." We'll soon know how it looks in a First Day cottage.

Family help

We imported some family helpers from out-of-state to assist in putting the finishing touches on the house (they call it a vacation in Florida!). Since they had not been down for several months, they were very impressed with progress. We like the encouragement.

Here we are putting up some shelving for recessed lighting on the porch and washing windows.





















The baby also gets to help with small nailing projects. At 18-months, the pediatrician wonders how he gained such fantastic motor control and hand-eye coordination?! We'll never tell....